Just Another Adventure
by No Ordinary Girl
Summary: Link is lost... both figuratively and literally... (Honestly, I don't know where this story is going, so... bear with me...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the Zelda Series; all the rights are held by Nintendo and other such companies.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
It was morning… late morning. He opened his eyes to see green… he wondered why it was green, for a moment. Then, when he remembered he'd been traveling so long… he once again sighed and rose to his feet.  
  
It was a pleasant morning, cool enough for him to be able to see his breath, but warm enough to go without wool. He yawned as he stood up, favoring his left leg as usual. He picked up his things, shook off the leaves from his green hat, and began to walk.  
  
The reflection of the sun off the late-morning dew began to blind him as he walked, but he walked on, enjoying the beautiful morning that it was. He smelled the flowers as he passed them. Yes, this was what May was supposed to be like. His eyes drifted from flower to flower, tree to tree… wondering where he was yet not really caring where he was going. He would get to where he was going if he followed his heart. He knew that much. There was nothing holding him back from finding whatever it was his heart ached for… love perhaps, or adventure… he could never be sure. He thought about it every night… but the morning was not for thinking, it was for walking and feeling the warm sun.  
  
Despite his attempts to soak in the happiness, his mind once again took over. There was no way to stop the thoughts when he was alone walking…. It's just how things happened to work.  
  
"Why did I leave her?" he asked himself. "Why did I leave?" He talked to himself a while… then started asking it louder.  
  
"WHY DID I LEAVE HER?" he yelled at the forest surrounding him. "Why?"  
  
He looked down, took off his green hat, took out his bow and arrow and randomly shot arrows, firing them at anything that moved. The breeze stopped and suddenly there was nothing else to shoot at.   
  
All at once the anger which had held him so tightly in it's forceful grip let go. He fell to his knees and started to cry. The sun made no difference… he still didn't know where he was going or why. No matter what he told himself, he knew he was lost. Why he had left the one he loved, he didn't know. Why he was looking for anything else, he wasn't sure.  
  
The only thing he did know was that it was gone and he was searching for something better… something he didn't have and didn't know he wanted.  
  
And so… he got up, collected his arrows… and decided to walk on. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
After walking for a good hour or so, he came to a large oak tree. He looked up at it, in all its ancient-looking sense of beauty. He imagined it in the dead of winter, frozen and cold… and then imagined it in October, with flaming red and orange leaves… and he thought about it for a moment, and then set out to find something to draw it with.  
  
  
  
Despite the fact that he was no artist, he sat down to draw this beautiful tree. Between glances at the tree and drawing, he did not notice that he was being watched. He had no idea that just 200 feet away was someone who'd been watching him.  
  
He finished the crude drawing he'd begun 25 minutes earlier and looked at it with a small sense of pride. He held it out in front of him for a moment, studying it and trying to see what errors he had made. He looked from his drawing to the tree.  
  
Out of nowhere, the leaves rustled and he heard a high-pitched laugh. He turned around in a split second and looked around, searching for what had made the noise. His eyes darted from the tree to the bushes and the flowers he was surrounded by, not even sure which direction the laugh had come from. He looked confused for a moment, decided it was his imagination taking over, as he had not seen another Hylian since he'd left, and took out what he had to add color to his drawing.  
  
He sat again on a lonely rock beside the tree and began to fill in the drawing with some color, making the drawing almost as beautiful as the tree would have looked. He used a brilliant orange for the leaves, and again stopped a moment to admire his work, holding it out in front of him. Again, a muffled laugh and a rustle came from somewhere, yet he could not figure out where.  
  
Again he searched, in vain, trying to even figure out where the sound had come from. His efforts were useless; he still had no idea where the sound came from. Again, he tried to put it out of mind, going back to his work, feeling paranoid for imagining the sound.   
  
After another few moments, he heard that sound a third time. He had not imagined it… it WAS real. It was not something of his imagination… and he turned to see a shadow underneath a bush.  
  
"…Who are you?" he asked, with an uneven voice.  
  
  
  
The girl stood up. He was pale with dark hair and eyes, wearing what a Hylian girl would wear… a nice dress. It was green, and it nicely brought out her features. He thought for a moment, "She looks like a pixie!" and as he looked at her, he smiled slightly, glad that no one was out to get him.  
  
She saw the smile come to his face and smiled in return, and held out her hand in greeting. He took it without a word. After shaking hands, he looked at her, puzzled as to why she had not spoken. She recognized the look and immediately began to speak.  
  
"My name is Nina," she said calmly. "And yes, I am a Hylian. I can tell you've been traveling by what you're wearing… and it seems that I know who you are, somehow…" she trailed off for a moment, and her eyes darkened further, and the smile left her face.   
  
His eyes met hers and he looked puzzled again. After a moment, she spoke again.  
  
"Forgive me for asking, but… honestly now, are you Link?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Her eyes brightened, and she smiled again. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
The sun was falling in the west, and Link, after 3 months of walking alone, had met a fellow Hylian. A smile crept across his face as he walked beside her, wondering why she had followed him and laughed at his drawing… which he had, for some reason, left by the tree when they left.  
  
Nina was walking on his right, a great deal shorter than Link, yet with the same happy stride. There were no heavy footfalls upon the grass as they walked. Both were in high spirits. Link's reason was simple, Nina's was more interesting.  
  
Nina looked up at Link for a moment as they walked in silence. The silence, unlike most, was warm and comforting. There was no paranoia attacking her mind, as their often was. She didn't know where they were going, and she doubted he had any idea either. They were like two snowflakes somehow meeting during the fall to earth. Nina smiled as she let her eyes wander from the flowers to the beautiful trees, noticing the setting sun to her right. All she knew was that they were going south and that she would have someone interesting accompanying her, now.  
  
As Nina looked away, Link looked at her. He was glad to have someone with him after being alone so long. It had been a long time since he'd talked to something other than nature or himself, and he loved to listen. He preferred listening over talking, yet Nina did not, for the moment, have reason or courage to speak again. "She seemed flustered enough before," he thought, trying to think anything but a depressing thought… but the depressing thoughts came, and all of a sudden, for no reason at all, a tear fell down his cheek.  
  
Nina looked up at him again, and stopped, with a puzzled look on her face, and just stared at him for a moment… then, shakily, she began to speak again.  
  
"Are… are you alright? Is something wrong?"  
  
He nodded, trying to hold back more tears, and she nodded in return.  
  
"Is there anything you want me to do? I'll listen if you'll tell me…" she said, wondering what difference it would make.  
  
He nodded. "If you'll listen, and not try to give me advice, as so many have… I'll tell you."  
  
She nodded and her eyes brightened a little. She looked around and found a rock to sit on, and she sat down and he sat down next to her, glad to get a rest from the long walk of the day. He sighed and she looked worried. He tried to smile… and was ready to begin the long talk he knew would have to come. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
"I..." he tried to begin, but the tears came. They streamed down his face as if the ocean tide had come in upon them. Nina looked at him with tears in her own eyes, not sure of what to do. She looked flustered, trying to choose between hugging him or not. He longed for it. "I haven't been hugged since... since..." he couldn't finish the thought before fresh tears hit his eyes and he didn't want to think anymore.  
  
The sun was setting behind them, and Nina looked away from Link and to the sun, trying to catch one last ray of it's warmth before the cool night would set in. Her face darkened as the sun went behind the trees, and Link sat there, shaking slightly, trying to stop from crying.   
  
Nina looked at him again and any trace of a smile that had been on her face vanished. She look depressed all of a sudden, as though she'd caused him such pain. She took his hand in hers, and at the touch he looked at her, wondering what she was attempting to do. She tried to smile, and he tried to return the gesture, but neither had much of a reason or a will to smile anymore. Link looked at her with swollen blue eyes and tried to find a sense of compassion with in her, anything that would lead her to care about him in any way. He needed someone who would care, at least in a friendly way, if he was to stop crying; he knew that to begin with.  
  
He was looking at Nina when she turned to look at him again. A puzzled look came upon her face, and, seeing it, Link just sighed and turned away, letting his hand fall away from hers. She looked disheartened by the simple gesture, and moved closer to him for a moment. She still knew nothing of the reason for his tears, and wanted to know it now more than ever. "There must be a good reason," she thought in disdain, "This can't be a random outburst. There must be a reason for all of this..."  
  
He looked up at her again, trying to stop his tears, and her eyes brightened and smiled. Despite the fact that he could not return the smile, his eyes brightened to sky blue and Nina wondered if she would ever learn the reason for his fit of tears.  
  
"Link... will you... if it doesn't hurt too much, would you... if there's anything I can... oh please... would you... would you tell me why you... you were crying?"  
  
He dropped his gaze a moment, looking at the ground, trying to focus and stop his tears again. He shut his eyes and shook his head, then stopped and looked at her again. He smiled weakly, and nodded.  
  
"I will tell you," he said, very quietly, "but no one else must ever know."  
  
"Alright," she replied. "If it's a secret you intend to keep, keep it I shall."  
  
And in the falling light, Nina could hear his soft reply, "Good." 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
He looked at her again, but now it was getting dark and therefore hard to see. His eyes somehow met hers, she smiled, and he finally, reluctantly, began to tell the story which he intended for no one to ever hear of again.  
  
"It begins about a year ago... everyone has heard of my wonderful adventures in Hyrule, saving Princess Zelda..." he shook his head violently at the name, but pressed on as he looked at Nina's intrigued face. "Well... things weren't so peachy after I saved her. Her father was a little short of wonderful, and she was... well, I don't want to remember."  
  
She nodded at him, hoping there was more.  
  
"I went and lived with her in Hyrule Castle for awhile, but, as always, disaster was to strike again. It always does in Hyrule, and I can't be there to save it for all of my life... it's just too much weight on me... I'm only 18, I can't handle this sort of responsibility anymore."  
  
She nodded, noting his age in her mind, and comparing it to her mere 16 years.  
  
"And in those days, you didn't leave the girl you loved, but in my case... after 8 months of that, I wanted out. In the dead of night, I decided I was going to leave... so one warm June night, I packed what I have with me, and I ran out of that castle as fast as I could ever go."  
  
She smiled weakly, trying to think of how he could have done such a thing, but despite his bad points, she withheld her judgement and saw him still as a very wonderful guy.  
  
"And... ever since then, everynight I will dream of her. I will dream of her crying, missing me, and I wonder why I ever left. But now... now that doesn't matter. I'm so lost I couldn't find my way back if I tried, and I really don't want to go back. I miss her, but I don't miss the castle, her father, or anything else about Hyrule and I don't intend to go back.... not anymore."  
  
At last it seemed he'd come to an end for his story... and he'd made a decision he didn't like. Somehow Nina had known it was about Zelda... she'd always known that Zelda made people cry, for one reason or another. She'd never liked her, but usually she kept her judgement and tried to see the good in people. Her father had always taught her to see the best in people... but she'd lost her father and her mother long ago. They'd been taken by Ganondorf... back when they lived near Hyrule, as well. She had somehow escaped to the forest and had been clothed as a fairy by someone who had found her and tried to raise her. She had always seemed mature since her parents had gone, however, and the child was kind but very odd. The woman let her stay in the forest when she left, searching for a town somewhere to the south.   
  
That was years ago... yet all the memories came flying back into Nina's mind and she looked at Link. Link smiled vaguely, having told his heavy secret and now the secret set in on Nina's already heavy heart. She did not intend to tell him her story. It was just as hard, if not harder, for her to tell hers... so she looked at Link with an admiration she didn't have before, and he saw it.  
  
A few more tears sprung to his eyes and streamed down his face again, and she looked at the reflection of the moonlight off his face and saw the tears... and immediately made a decision. She crept closer to him as he looked at her, confused as to what she would do, and wondering if she was thinking what he had earlier.  
  
She crept to his side, and put her arms around him and held him for a moment; he cried some more on her shoulder as she played with his hair. 


End file.
